Upstate Vegas Events ROCHESTER, NY

The Basics

Caribbean Stud is a five card stud poker game played on a blackjack type table with a standard 52 card deck.  Notice the three betting spots in front of you: The box marked "Bet," the box marked "Ante" and the drop slot for the progressive jackpot if available.  Place a mandatory bet in the Ante box before play begins.  This ante bet can be any amount within the posted table limits.  Place an optional bet in the Progressive Jackpot drop slot.

Playing the Hand

The Dealer then gives five cards, face down, to all the players and gives himself four down and one up.  Examine your five cards.  Share no information about your hand with your neighbors.  You then look at you cards and decide to either play or fold.  If you fold, you lose your ante bet.  If you choose to play, you place double the amount of the ante in the "Bet" box.  This is your "call" bet.

After all the players have acted, the dealer reveals his four hole cards.  If he has an Ace with a King or higher hand, he qualifies to complete with the players.  If he does not qualify with the A-K or higher required, he pays all the betters even money on their ante bets.  Each call bet , in this case is a "push".  If the dealers do qualify with A-K or higher, he then compares his hand to each of the players hands.  If the dealer's hand is higher, the player loses both his or her ante bet and call bet.  If the player's hand is higher than the dealer's, then he or she wins even money on the ante and the bonus amount on the call bet, in accordance with the Call Bet Bonus schedule.

A common mistake that many Caribbean stud poker players make is to refuse to bet on low pairs like twos, threes and fours, and strong Ace highs because they seem to lose a lot more often than they win... They're right!  They do.  But what they don't realize is that not betting those hands and forfeiting the ante bet every time, is more costly in the long term than betting them.  It's like splitting a pair of eights vs. a dealer ten in blackjack.  Costly, but not splitting is even more so.

If the player made the $1.00 jackpot bet and has a flush or higher, he or she receives payment for the hand, in accordance with the Jackpot Payout schedule.  When players are eligible for jackpot payouts they must announce that they have a jackpot hand to the dealer, as soon as they see it and before the hand is over.  This is to protect your hand from the dealer accidentally scooping it up and mixing it in with the dead cards.  Protect this hand and never take it off the table or out of overhead camera sight.  If you do, the casino has the right to enforce the game rules and not pay you for it.  The progressive jackpot bet is a separate side game.  The player wins whether he or she beats the dealer or not.

Strategy

Always Call Bet When you Have:  A-K-J xx or higher (or) A-K and the same card as the dealer's upcard denomination, otherwise FOLD.

Hand Rankings/Call Bet Bonus Schedule:

• Royal Flush          100-1
• Straight Flush       50-1
• 4 of a Kind           20-1
• Full House            7-1
• Flush                   5-1
• Straight               4-1
• 3 of a Kind           3-1
• 2 Pair                  2-1
• 1 Pair or less        1-1